


Coffee

by Mcusekat



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: College-Aged au, Getting Together, M/M, Ray works at Gamestop, Ryan works at Starbucks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-29
Packaged: 2018-06-01 06:48:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6505540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mcusekat/pseuds/Mcusekat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray works at Gamestop. He hates his job, but when he learns he has to work November 20, or the day Fallout launches he becomes miserable.</p><p>Ryan is a student at UT Austin and works at Starbucks on the side. He comes into Ray’s store one day and Ray decides his job could be worse. And maybe working launch isn't all bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thank you to [Ashe](http://archiveofourown.org/users/asimplewalk/pseuds/asimplewalk) for beta-Ing this!!
> 
> (Also, holy shit I wrote something that isn't gtaverse!)

  In about a week, Fallout 4 would be launched. When Ray came in to work, he had expected his schedule to mirror his thoughts. He barely glanced at the timetable before doing a double take. In red, he saw _Tuesday: 6:30am-1:00pm_.

  “Woah,” he said, stopping his manager. “What’s this? I thought I had Tuesday off?”

  “Matt has a wedding that day,” he said. “He traded his hours with you. You get Thursday and Friday off instead.”

  “Matt didn't talk to me about this,” he said, trying to keep the confrontation out of his voice.

  His manager shrugged and wandered off. Ray suddenly felt exhausted. He had purposely picked Tuesdays and Wednesdays off because that was when most big game titles launched, and the mere idea of dealing with a thousand people yelling at him about their pre orders made Ray want to die.

  “Matt what the fuck?” he asked when the young cashier appeared.

  “Sorry man, my aunt is getting married,” he said flippantly. He repeated, “Sorry,” when he saw the anger on Ray’s face. He didn't sound very apologetic.

  “That's bullshit and you know it,” Ray said, gritting his teeth.

  Matt shrugged, then walked back to the register.

  Ray re-entered the storeroom floor. The smiling Vault Boy display in front of the store gave him a feeling of sick dread. He turned away from it and walked to the register.

  He was too busy sulking to notice the customer walk in until Matt greeted him. He recognized the uniform of the Starbucks across the way.

  Ryan, his name tag read. He was handsome, with sandy blond hair and blue eyes. Not Ray's type, but he was nice to look at nonetheless.

  “Can I help you with anything?” Ray asked.

  The guy shook his head. “Just browsing,” he said. “Thanks though.”

  “Okay. Tell me if you need help with anything,” Ray said.

  The guy smiled politely, and Ray felt something flutter in his chest. “Thanks,” he said.

  ‘ _He_ could _be my type_ ,’ Ray thought before trying to make himself look busy by aligning the counter displays.

  Ryan set Halo 5 on the counter and pulled out his wallet.

  “Did you find everything you need?” Ray asked. The guy was even prettier up close. Ray kept his eyes on the game as he scanned it.

  “Yes,” he said.

  “That’ll be $70. Do you want a bag?”

  “Yes, please,” he said.

  “Have a nice day,” he said. He handed over the bag, and Ryan smiled when he took it.

  “You too.”

  Ray tried not to be obvious about watching Ryan go, but the odd look he received from Matt assured him he was.

~

     Ray called it people watching, but he knew realistically that he was just being creepy. From the glass storefront he had a perfect angle to watch what was going on in Starbucks across the way, and by extension a perfect angle of Ryan.

  During his lunch break he went over to the Starbucks. He never cared for Starbucks (he could buy five McDonald's burgers with the price of one coffee!) but the chance to talk to Ryan was all too compelling. He stood at the front of the Gamestop until Ryan took the register, then he speed-walked to the growing line.

  “Hey, what’re you doing here? Thought you said this place was overpriced bullshit.” Michael’s voice suddenly startled him out of his thoughts.

  “Jesus,” Ray yelped, grabbing his chest in surprise, “Can’t a man enjoy an overpriced frappe once in awhile?”

  “I guess,” Michael said, shrugging his shoulders dramatically. “Wanna be a boi and pay for my drink too?”

  “Wanna suck my dick?”

  “Pay for my latte and I'll suck whatever you want, baby,” the redhead smirked and nudged his friend's shoulder.

  Ray scowled at him. “Gross. Get in line, bitch.”

  Michael groaned, then stepped behind him. “Ray, I hate you. Maybe if you were a better friend, God wouldn't punish you by making you work launch day.”

  “I have to work launch because Matt is a dick, not because I'm not buying your shitty, overpriced latte.”

  The person in front of him stepped aside and Ray approached the counter. “Hello,” Ryan said. “What can I get you today?”

  “One vanilla bean frappuccino please,” he said.

  “Size?”

  Ray faltered, then, not really having considered that. “Uh, medium?”

  Ryan chuckled. “Grande,” he corrected, grabbing a cup. “You’re Ray, right?”

  “Yeah,” he said, then looked down to see if he’d forgotten to take off his lanyard.

  “I remember from yesterday. I bought Halo from you,” he said marking the drink onto the side for the other barista.

  “Yeah, I remember you,” he said. Behind him, Michael snorted.

  “That’ll be $5.29. Your drink will be at the counter over there,” he said, then handed the cup over to the woman working the machine.

  After a moment Michael joined him at the table that he’d plunked down to wait. “Smooth. I feel privileged to have seen that display,” he said.

  “What display? That was a perfectly normal exchange between two human beings,” he refused to look up from where he was glaring at the tabletop as he waited for a glorified coffee milkshake.

  “I remember you,” Michael mocked, staring wide-eyed at Ray. “You sounded like an asshole.”

  “Hey,” Ray shot back. “Stop the bullying!” The woman called Ray's name, and he moved to get it. “Go to work,” he said as he passed Michael on his way back to the store.

 

~

 

  Michael didn't start work until 30 minutes after Ray's break ended, so he sat and waited at the Starbucks on his phone until then. When he clocked in he joined Ray at the counter. “Sup, bitch,” he said, typing his employee ID into the register.

  “So, tell me, what were you so busy with on Saturday that you flaked out on game night?” Michael asked.

  “I didn't flake out, I called you on Thursday to tell you, first of all. Second of all, I had to talk to the person who owns that apartment building I've been looking at. The down payment is more than I have and I spent most of my off day sweet talking my grandparents into throwing some change my way. If I do get that place, though, I'll probably have to get a roommate.”

  Michael perked up. “Roommate? Dude, my mom's been hinting that I should move out since I turned 20.”

  “Really? There's a fuckton of paperwork you'll have to do, but if you moved I wouldn't have to take my chances with Craigslist. Come with me on Saturday to check it out,” he said.

  “Sure, send me a time and I'll pick you up. Now, onto more important business, you've got Friday off right? Wanna see that new Bond movie with me and Lindsay?”

  “Dude I'm not third wheeling on your date,” Ray said.

  “It’s not a date, dumbass. Besides, Gavin will be there too.”

  “That makes it less of a date?”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Michael said, punching Ray's shoulder. “You coming or not? I'll pay for your ticket.”

  “How can I refuse a free movie?”

  A mother and her 13 year old son, clad in a Minecraft shirt and wearing a backwards snapback, walked in. He immediately went to the Xbox rack while his mother walked tiredly behind him.

  “Damn, gotta restock the DS games. You better take this one,” Michael said, leaving the counter and walking to the storage room. Ray gave him a rueful look before he took the helm.

 

~

 

  Ray had a love-hate relationship with closing time. For whatever reason, more people frequented the store later in the day, but at the same time the lull of almost being able to leave was incredible.

  He and Michael were the only ones at the store when they closed up. The Starbucks was still open for another hour, and Ryan was standing lazily behind the counter. He watched it for a moment. There was no one around, no one looking to get coffee at 10pm. “Want a drink?” he said, gesturing to the Starbucks.

  “You’ll pay?”

  Ray snorted, and Michael scowled. “Whatever.”

  Ryan perked up when they approached. “Hey there,” he said. “Night coffees, eh? What can I get you for?”

  “You know, hard day at work. I'll get a vanilla bean frappuccino. Uh, grande.”

  “The usual,” he said, slight smile on his lips. He typed in the order, and Ray paid. “And you?”

  Ray wandered over to the counter and sat. Michael followed after taking his order. “So, you've got the hots for the barista,” Michael said in a decidedly not questioning tone. Ray couldn't deny it, so he shrugged, making Michael snicker. “You going to do anything about it or just keep buying $5 coffees and making small talk at him?”

  “I dunno man. Last time I dated I was in high school,” Ray said, shrugging. “I don't even know if I want to be with someone right now. Lot of shit going on in my life.”

  “Having to work launch isn't a lot of shit,” Michael said.

  Ray kicked him under the table. “It’s not just that, dick. I'm moving too.”

  “Well hey, do you. Don't miss out on something because you're too much of a bitch to talk to someone though.”

  “Wow, Michael, you should be a motivational speaker. I feel so inspired by your unnecessarily cruel words.”

  “Always happy to help,” Michael said with a grin.

 

~

 

  Ray was quiet as he entered his house. He crept back to his room and collapsed on his bed, still in uniform. As soon as his head hit the pillow his eyes shut, and he started to drift off until the drink in his hand started to tip. He woke with a start, correcting the cup. Even in the darkness he could see the writing on his cup, way more than three letters spelling Ray. He brought it closer to his face so he could read it. It was a series of numbers, a phone number he realized, followed by “call me!” Ray stared at it in shock for a moment, before cursing under his breath.

  He got up and turned the light on, then scribed the number onto a piece of paper, then into his phone. While it was unlocked, he sent a text to Michael reading simply _‘holy shit dude!!!’_

  Michael didn't take long to reply. _‘what’_

_‘Ryan put his number on my drink!!!’_

_‘txt him then.’_

_‘shld I do it 2nite? I don't want to seem desperate.’_

  ‘ _just do it asshole_ ’ Michael sent with a blurry jpeg of Shia Labeouf in front of a greenscreen.

  Ray took a deep breath, then went to Ryan’s contact. _‘Hey, it's Ray, from Gamestop?’_

  Immediately after he sent _‘Dude I sent it!’_ to Michael.

  _‘good. Unlike you, I have work tmrrw so im going 2 bed. Tell me abt the crazy phone sex u 2 have in the morning.’_

   _‘I hate u.’_

  His phone buzzed and he picked it up, expecting it to be Michael with some smart ass rebuttal. His heart reared when the contact name read _Ryan_.

~

 

  Ryan hardly had time for his friends between work and college. When he wasn't doing the tons of homework he had he was at the mall taking coffee orders. He couldn't imagine juggling a new friend, never even considered it. The last thing he needed was the pressure of keeping up with a new acquaintance, but Ray was different somehow. When he caught the boy staring at him from the cash register at the Gamestop, then visiting his store twice in a day, he suddenly felt the want to peruse something more with the lad.

  When he wrote his number on the lads cup it was with a feeling of excitement rather than the pressing feeling that this would be a chore, an unwanted addition to his life. He was closing up the shop when his cell vibrated. He plucked it from his pocket and read it. _‘Hey, it's Ray, from Gamestop?’_

  _‘Yeah! Hope you didn't mind me giving you my number. Wasn't sure what way you swung but I figured, worst that could happen was you turned me down.’_ He reread it a couple times before hitting send.

  Ray replied quickly. _‘I don't mind. I swing that way.’_

  Ryan felt a relief come over him. The mall was quiet. It was 11pm at that time, only a few stragglers left in the mall as well as the departing workers. Ryan pushed the big door open and walked into the air.

   _‘Are u free anytime soon? Some friend and I are going to see the new Bond movie. It'll be pretty casual, not one on one or anything.’_

  It was a couple minutes before Ray responded. _‘I made plans with my friend Michael to see it with his gf. Want to make it a party? It’ll be 4 of us in my group. Wbu?’_

_‘5. I can reserve seats so we can all sit together.’_

_‘Sounds great!’_ Ryan smiled to himself before replying.

~

  Ryan woke up early to get ready. He took a shower, used the nice cologne his mother had bought him for job interviews, and hand picked his outfit rather than selecting some articles that didn't smell dirty.

  He felt legitimately worried for the date. Although, it wasn't really a date, he reminded himself, but it kind of was. It was weird, but he was still stressed over it.

  His phone buzzed and the screen displayed Geoff, and suddenly he had a new element to worry about. Geoff and Griffin were crude people. He wasn't sure if Ray was the type to not get offended when people talked about their failed foray into anal sex. And then Jack, while being perhaps the most PG of the group, still liked to bring up controversial topics and start shit for the hell of it. He suddenly considered uninviting everyone but Caiti.

   _‘Hey bitch, u want lunch? Come to Jersey Mikes.’_

_‘Are you paying?’_

_‘Sure.’_ Geoff replied quickly.

  Ryan checked himself in the mirror one more time before grabbing his keys and heading to Jersey Mikes.

~

  “You smell like a lawyer,” Geoff said through a mouthful of fries. “Dolling yourself up for your date?”

  Ryan slid into the seat and shrugged. “Before you tease me, let's reminisce about your first date with Griffon.”

  “Yes, let's,” Griffon said, smirking.

  “Alright, alright,” Geoff said, throwing his hands up in defeat.

  “Wasn't it the suit you wore to prom? To see 21 Jump Street,” Griffon said.

  “He even had the corsage,” Ryan said, and they both laughed.

  “Okay, let's change the subject,” Geoff said, followed by “I hate you guys,” under his breath.

  “I thought it was endearing,” Griffon said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

  “So, Spectre. Got shitty reviews, apparently,” Geoff said.

  “Did it?” Ryan asked.

  “Yeah, 60 on Metacritic.”

  At the that moment, Jack arrived, Caiti at his side. They took the two open seats.

  “Hey guys,” he said, smiling at them all. “You get us anything?”

  “Nope,” Geoff said.

  “Oh, thanks,” Jack said drily.

  “Only 20 minutes until the movies starts anyways,” Geoff said. “Not enough time to eat. Should have been here sooner.”

  Ryan glanced at his watch. “Be right back,” he said, standing up and grabbing his empty tray. He dumped the garbage in the trash and made a beeline to the bathrooms. He smelled like a Jersey Mikes in a courtroom now, which wasn't a good scent. He tried to pat off the smell of sandwiches, made sure he hadn't gotten any on his clothes, then joined everyone at the table.

  At the theatre they found Ray and his group already there. He had brought three other people along. Ray smiled at him, looking shy and nervous.

  “Yo,” Ray said, then scrunched up his face as if wondering if that was the right thing to say.

  Ryan started to reply, but one of Ray's friends suddenly cut him off. “So which one of you bitches is paying for the popcorn?” Ray looked stricken, turning to frown in the general direction of a readhead.

  “Jack just got paid so I volunteer him,” Geoff said, pointing at an annoyed Jack.

  “What the fuck, you did too,” Jack said.

  “Yeah Geoff, and if I recall you get paid more than Jack,” Griffon said, nudging him in the rib.

  “I'm going to spit in all of your food,” he said, making his way to the concessions. “One of you assholes needs to help me carry it all.”

  “Gavin,” the redhead said.

  “What?” he stammered indignantly, but followed Geoff anyways.

  Their night didn't end with the movie. Afterwards they all went to an all night diner and ate while chatting. The two groups melded together spectacularly and it almost startled Ryan. Geoff and Michael were the first to click. They were both crude, vulgar people, it was a match made in heaven. They then teamed up on teasing Gavin, who, after years of this from Michael alone simply brushed it off. Jack and Gavin apparently knew each other from school, both of them being in the cinematography course. What brought them all together was when the conversation shifted to video games. Ryan had mentioned to Geoff that he'd bought the new Halo, and suddenly they were loudly debating about a variety of topics while the other patrons gave the nine arguing college-aged students dirty looks.

  The waitress gave them their bill without their asking and they all took the hint that it was time to leave.

  “We should hangout again soon,” Ray said to the whole group, but specifically looking at Ryan.

  And suddenly Ryan was excited for the things to come.


	2. Chapter 2

  Ray had enjoyed the night far more than he’d expected to. He hadn’t been able to talk to Ryan personally much, but his friends were great, and he’d enjoyed watching Michael butt heads with someone who was just as much of a smart ass as him. He went to bed early that night.  As much fun as it had been, being with eight other people was still exhausting. 

  His phone buzzed while he was in the realm between wake and sleep. He jerked awake at the sound, then fumbled for it and his glasses.  _ ‘Had fun tonight. Hope you did too :)’ _ It was Ryan. He couldn't help but grin. 

  He struggled with what to say before replying.  _ ‘sounds gud. Hit me wit a place n time and I'm down.’ _

  He felt a vague flutter in his gut at the prospect of an actual, honest to God date with Ryan.

~

 He slept in late the next morning. His mother got home from work at one pm, and she knocked on his door to wake him up.

  “I'm home,” she called through the door. “Are you still asleep?”

  “Ma, please,” he groaned. He squinted at the time on his phone and felt a wave of regret wash over him.

  “What were you doing all night?” His door opened and suddenly his room was flooded with light. 

  “Nothing, just slept in.”

  “You’re an adult, you don't have to lie to me if you're seeing someone,” she said, a hopeful look in her eyes that made Ray sigh.

  “I went out with some friends, but we were home before 11.”

  “You? Went out?” she said in mock disbelief. Ray made a face at her. “Look what came in the mail,” she said, handing him the envelope. 

  The address was from his grandparents. He tore it open and looked inside, at the couple hundred dollars in 20s. “Holy shit,” he said. The wave of excitement woke him up quickly.

  “Language,” she scolded in an unserious tone.

  “Dude, this is great! I need to call Michael,” he said, grabbing his phone.” He turned sharply and started rummaging on his nightstand for his phone.

  “Call your grandma too,” she said sternly.

  “Of course,” Ray said before shooing her out.

~

  Ray came home in a good mood. He was a couple hundred dollars lighter, but he (kind of) had his very first apartment. The paper work on his side was done, and he was going to be an independent person in the next couple of months.

  He treated himself to a round of Call of Duty online. The joy of the apartment and murdering twelve year olds online left him in a spectacular mood. 

  “So?” his mom asked when she walked into the living room. 

  “It's done,” he said, grinning. “I can move in next month.”

  “I'm so proud of you,” she said with a genuine smile.

  “Thanks mom. I'm proud of me too,” he said. She laughed and ruffled his hair.

  “You're still going to visit me,” she said. “And I'll visit you. Just because you're a big grown up man now doesn't mean you can't still be friends with your mother.”

  “Ma please, don't worry. I'll keep in touch.”

  She sat on the couch beside him. “So you've got a job, got your first apartment. The next step in life is getting married,” she said, nudging his arm.

  “Married? I'm barely 20,” he said, giving her a look. 

  “Are you seeing anyone?”

  Ray groaned. “Ma,” he said. 

  “Just curious,” she said. “I'm your mother, I'm allowed to be.” She got up and moved the the kitchen when Ray made it clear she was breaching on territory he didn't want to discuss.

  Ray's phone buzzed and he grabbed it. “Ryan”. Speak of the devil. _‘Hey, what's yp?’_

_   ‘up*’ _

  He chuckled to himself before tapping out a reply.  _ ‘nm, r u at work now?’ _

_   ‘No, I get weekends off.’ _

_   ‘thats cool. R u busy tonight?’ _

_   ‘Nope, what have u got in mind?’ _

  Ray thought for a second. He recalled Ryan saying lots of smart sounding stuff at dinner last night, so he might like a museum. “Hey ma, when's that museum on Stratford close?” Ryan called.

  “6, why?”

_  ‘Want to go to the museum? Thats a good first date right.’ _

_   ‘Sure, haha. what time?’ _

  It was three, so he figured soon _. ‘In an hour? It's on Stratford, that natural science museum’ _

_   ‘Sure, meet you there?’ _

_   ‘Ye’ _

  Ray approached the kitchen counter. “Mom, can I use your car? It won't be long, like an hour?”

  “For what? Are you going to the museum?” She set her towel down to look at him.

  “Yeah,” he said. 

  She narrowed her eyes. “Sure. When are you leaving?” 

  “Four. Thanks ma!” He shut off his console and went to take a shower and get ready. 

~

  He sat on the bench outside the museum and watched for Ryan. It was only 3:50, but he was already nervous. He wondered if Ryan would think he was weird for being ten minutes early, if he would care that he was wearing a video game shirt to a museum, if he should have worn contacts instead of glasses. “Stop,” he said out loud, then glanced around in case someone was walking by. He took a deep breath, tried to stop overthinking things. 

  “Hey, you're early,” Ryan said as he approached.

  “So are you,” Ray said.

  “Touche,” he said, then grinned.

  “It's $3 entry,” he said. “You go to the college, though, right? You could get in free if you have your ID.” He mentally scolded himself for rambling. 

  “Awesome,” Ryan said, smiling at him again. “Want to head in?”

  “Yeah,” he said. 

  Ryan showed the guy at the front desk his school ID, then handed him $3 for Ray.

  The first part of the museum was an astronomy exhibit. “I use to want to be an astronaut,” Ray mentioned as they stood in front of a digital map of the milky way. 

  “Really? What stopped you?”

  “Space is scary, man. Ever hear that Bowie song where that guy gets stuck in space. Or that new Bullock movie where she gets stuck in space? I'm not doing that. Plus, you have to be good at math to be an astronaut and I failed algebra twice,” he said.

  “That seems to be the stopping point for a lot of people,” he said. “ I wanted to be a doctor when I was a kid, then I realized how much you actually had to go through to be a doctor. And blood makes me queasy.”

  “Doctors make bank, though,” he said.

  “Not doctors who faint at the sight of blood.”

  “Good point. I'm sure you'd learn to get past that once you saw the fat stacks you made, though.”

  Ryan chuckled. “Probably. It's not like animation and theatre will get me rich.”

  “You never know,” Ray said. “Lots of shit can happen. Maybe you'll hit it big and make bank.”

  “Hopefully. I might have a better chance if getting rich by stepping in front of a Lexus’ and suing the shit out of the driver.” Ryan shrugged.

  “I mean, hey, what's a few broken ribs if you’re making a million off some rich douche?” Ray said, smiling. 

  “Exactly!” Ryan said, grinning. He nudged Ray’s shoulder, their hands bumping together. Ray hesitantly slid his fingers into Ryan's, and he felt a flurry in his gut. “What do you want to do for a living? If you don't mind my asking.”

  “I dunno. I've been thinking about getting into streaming, or let's plays, but that's a hard business to break into.”

  “You could do it,” Ryan said. “You have the right sense of humor for it, you're entertaining, funny.”

  Ray blushed, looking down at the floor to hide his smile. “Thanks,” he said, squeezing Ryan’s hand. 

  They moved on to the next level, on geology and, what most people were there for, fossils. Ray immediately sought out the t-rex fossil. 

  “You know,” Ryan said. “These aren't actual dinosaur bones. They plaster cast real bones and stain them to look real.”

  “Thanks for ruining my childhood, Ryan,” he joked. 

  “Sorry,” he said. “I can't let museums get away with their lies, though.”

  “Okay,” Ray laughed. He bit his lip, suppressing the wide grin that was threatening to show.

  The museum was quiet that late into the day, with just a few families wandering around. The atmosphere was peaceful, and Ray, who was already in a great mood, felt ecstatic at how well he and Ryan were getting on.

  The conversation flowed easily, and before long it was closing time and they were getting shooed out of the museum.

  Ryan walked Ray to his car and they hesitated before saying their goodbyes. Confident from his good mood, Ray made the first move. Ryan kissed him back quickly, and his hands moved to rest on Ray’s waist.

  When he pulled away, Ray felt a little frazzled. “So the date was a success?” Ray asked, smiling.

 Ryan laughed, a sound that made his heart flutter. “Yeah, I think so.”

 Ray glanced down at Ryan’s lips, and he took the hint and leaned in again. Ray wrapped his arms around Ryan’s shoulders and pulled him close, chest to chest.

~

  Ray was in a good mood the whole evening. His mother emerged from her bedroom when she heard the front door open. “How was it?” she asked.

  “Great,” he said, stopping himself before he relayed his incredible date to his mother.

  “Who’d you go with?”

  Ray pursed his lips. “Michael and Gavin,” he said. “There was a bug exhibit from France there, and you know how Michael is about gross shit like that.” 

  She frowned. Not the answer she was looking for. Or maybe she saw through Ray's lie. Ray hoped for the former.

  “Anyways, my friend's wedding is Tuesday. I'm leaving in the morning and I'll be gone until noon Wednesday. Don’t throw any wild parties, we can't afford a noise complaint,” she said. 

  “Damn,” he said. “I'll call my two friends and tell them nevermind.”

  “Okay, smartass. I cleaned the house today, and I’d like it to be in the same state I left it in when I came back.”

  “Don't worry about it. I work tomorrow, I'll probably come home and just sleep,” he said.

  “Okay,” she said.

  He wondered if he should invite Ryan over. He would love to have sex with the guy, but just inviting him over to play games for awhile was enough for him. 

  His mother went to the kitchen to start dinner so Ray retired to the couch. His phone buzzed nearly as soon as he sat down, and he quickly pulled it out of his pocket. Michael: _ ‘Hey bitch. U online?’ _

_  ‘i can be, what r u playing?’ _

_   ‘Destiny. Wanna join. Gavin and Geoff are playing too.’ _

_   ‘Geoff?’ _

_   ‘from the movie. The one wit the tats.’ _

  He was surprised that Michael and Geoff were talking. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. He liked Ryan, they clicked well, and he definitely wanted to be with him, but if something happened, and things didn't work out, he wasn't sure how he felt about their friend groups meshing together. 

  He brushed off the thought and accepted Michael’s game invite.

~

  That night Ryan called him. “Hey,” Ray said. He thought about inviting him then, but chickened out and dropped it.

  “Hey,” Ryan said. “Are you busy?”

  “Not at all, why?” Ray asked. 

  “Just had something I wanted to ask,” he said. 

  “Oh?” Ray felt a foreboding feeling in his gut. 

  “Nothing bad. I just wanted to ask if you wanted to,” Ryan paused. “I'm trying to think of phrasing that doesn't make it sound like we’re in middle school. I’ll just say it. Do you want to be boyfriends.”

  Boyfriends. Well, there was a step. Was he ready for that? Ray hadn't been with someone in a while, since sophomore year in high school to be exact, and he wasn't entirely sure if he was ready for that step.

  But, god, he really liked Ryan, and he really would like to make it official. “Yeah,” he said suddenly. “Yeah I would like that. I should warn you though, I'm pretty out of practice.”

  Ryan chuckled. “Don't worry, I am too.” Ray relaxed.


	3. Chapter 3

  Monday came too fast. Ray climbed out of bed at ten, showered, pulled his uniform out of the dryer and went to the bus stop and waited. 

  It was an uncharacteristically cold day in Austin. He pulled his jacket closer and sighed, looking down the street for the bus. There were hundreds of cars inching along, heading to work. His phone vibrated and he pulled it out. Ryan. _ ‘Hey, u work today right? What time?’ _

_   ‘In an hour, why?’ _

_   ‘Do u want to carpool? Save gas and such?’ _

_   ‘pls. I'm at the bus stop in front of the cherry apartments on 1st.’ _ It took ten minutes for Ryan to pull up. 

  His car was a little Honda Accord, dark blue and slightly dirty on the outside. The inside was clean, though. He had a pine tree in the window, original scent, and everything was clean pristine. The other man looked weary with sleep still. His hair was a bit messy and when he greeted Ray it was with a tired smile.

  “Hey,” he said. 

  “Hey,” Ray said, smiling back. “Thanks for picking me up. Hope it wasn't out of your way.”

  “Nah it wasn't,” he said. “Do you work tomorrow?”

  “Sadly, yes.” Ray almost cringed at the nemory.

  “That sucks.” There was real remorse in his voice. “Well, a lot of people bought Fallout digitally, so maybe you won't be very busy,” he offered. 

  “I’ve seen the pre order list,” Ray said, shaking his head mournfully. “Michael works tomorrow though.”

  Ryan pulled the car into the lot and parked. They both climbed out and paused at the front bumper for a moment. Ray made the first move, kissing him once carefully on the lips, giving Ryan enough leeway to either pull back or lean forward and deepen it. He chose the latter, pulled Ray closer by the front of his jacket and tilting his head slightly so they fit more comfortably together. 

  Ray pulled Ryan back so they were leaning against the car behind him. He hoped it was Ryan’s car but he couldn't care to confirm, and Ryan’s hands slid down to Ray's hips, thumbs just barely under his shirt, on the skin of his hips.

~

  Ray greeted Michael before clocking in. He joined his friend behind the counter and smiled. “Yo. You ready for tomorrow?”

  Michael’s face twisted into a look of disgust. “Ugh, don't remind me,” he said. “I might step in front of a car so I don't have to come in,” he said. 

  “I'll fucking kill you myself if you do,” he said.

  Michael smirked. “Hey, whatever gets the job done,” he said. “Oh yeah, can you set up the displays that are in the back?”

  Ray headed to the back where a cardboard Tomb Raider display was folded up.  _ Oh yeah, that was coming out tomorrow too. _ He stared at it for a moment before pulling it out and setting it up in front of the doors to the store. He glanced across the way and saw Ryan at the register serving a customer. Once the customer was gone Ryan looked up and waved at him.

~

  Ryan drove Ray home, as they got off near the same time. “Hey, tomorrow after work will you be busy?” Ray asked.

  Ryan shrugged. “No, what’d you have in mind?”

  “Well, my mom will be at a wedding tomorrow and won't get home until Wednesday afternoon. I was thinking, if you were up to it, we could hang out.”

  “Okay,” Ryan said. There was a certain glint in his eye, a hopeful look, that told Ray he had the same thing in mind as him. Suddenly, Ray couldn't wait until tomorrow.

~

  In the morning, the mall was fairly empty when Ray walked in, just himself and the tired workers making their way to their places of business. He unlocked the door and walked in, locking it back behind him. The setting up process was gradual. Usually Ray hated opening, but that day he appreciated the quiet. The calm before the storm. Michael arrived 20 minutes after Ray. “40 minutes ‘til we open,” he said as soon as he walked into the door.

  “Fuck, don't remind me,” he said.

  “There’s already some assholes waiting in front of the mall,” Michael said. 

  “God, ”he said. “How many?”

  “Three? Not too many, but still.” The first customer approached the storefront at 8:30, when the mall opened its doors to the public. He sat on the bench in the middle of the aisle and waited. Ray felt the budding anxiety in his gut as he stared at the guy, proudly donning his New Vegas shirt. Two more coworkers arrived at the same time. They looked to be in the same state of perpetual dread as Ray. They all started unpacking the boxes, putting some on the shelves while keeping the preorders separate.

  When the doors opened, the guy was accompanied by five other people. They all went straight to the register. Not 30 minutes later Ray had already counted in 20 preorders. 

  From there, they were consistently busy. The line went out the door and two storefronts down. They even had to set up barriers because the neighboring businesses were complaining to the manager. They opened up both registers, and the people on the floor were busy herding people and cleaning up the inevitable mess. 

  When Ray's break came he couldn't get out fast enough. He called over one of the people on floor and made a beeline out of the place. Starbucks was thankfully empty. Ryan waved him over from the register. “Hey,” he greeted. “Christ, it looks bad from here, can't imagine what it's like inside.”

  “You don't want to. Preorder doesn't even sound like a word anymore,” he said.

  “Are you even going to be able to enjoy Fallout after this?”

  “Probably not,” he said. “Give me whatever has the most caffeine in it.”

  Ryan chuckled. “I’ll pay,” he said.

  “Bless you,” Ray said before collapsing in one of the chairs in the waiting area.

~

  He went into autopilot the rest of the day, taking money, pressing buttons, and passing cases over the counter. By the time he clocked out his brain was a haze of endless monotony. 

  When his shift ended everything was a haze until he was laying on his bed and staring at the ceiling until he didn't see copies of Fallout and Tomb Raider behind his eyelids. 

  He thought about Ryan instead, the mumbled, “Oh, shit,” when he remembered Ryan was coming over. 

  He jumped up and scanned his room. It wasn't really messy, just disorganized. He walked around and put everything in order, vacuumed his floor, then scanned it again. He changed his bedsheets and tossed them into the laundry hamper, then walked around his house looking for anything out of order. 

  When he was satisfied, he went back to his room and booted up his computer. It was 5 then, Ryan worked until 7 so he had a couple hours to kill. He’d preloaded Fallout and contemplated for all of three seconds whether or not he should play it before clicking on the icon and booting it up.

~

  Ryan's day went by slow. Starbucks was remarkably unbusy, due to the combination of it being a Tuesday afternoon and people avoiding this area of the mall because of the weaving line that persisted the whole day.

  He leaned forward on the counter and let himself get lost in thought. Inevitably, his thoughts drifted to Ray. Ray, with the cute smile and the infectious laugh. Ray, who would pull him close when they kissed until every inch of him was crowded against Ryan. Ray.

  Seven couldn't come fast enough. As soon as he was off he sent Ray a text asking what time he wanted him over, and what his address was. Ray responded quickly.

_  ‘Whenever, rlly. U can come over now if u want. I live at the Cherry lane apts, number 24c. Ill buzz u in.’ _

_   ‘Okay. I need to drop some stuff off at my dorm, but I should be there within the hour.’ _

  As soon as Ryan reached his dorm he threw his crap inside and rummaged through the drawers until he found his condoms. He flipped the box over for an expiration date. His sex life had been stagnant since, well, always, but he was thrilled to find that they still had a month left. He shoved the box in his bag and took the stairs two at a time back down to the first level.

  Ray lived in the outer edge of town, ten minutes from his dorms. There wasn't much traffic on the road to his apartment, so Ryan got there fast. He buzzed in apartment 24c. It took a minute before the door unlocked.

  Ray's apartment was nice, spacious. He had a large TV with several consoles beneath, an open kitchen, lots of windows. “Welcome to casa de Narvaez,” Ray said, gesturing wide over everything. He let Ryan in and shut the door behind him. “I live here with my mom. Pretty sexy right?”

  Ryan smiled. “Oh, yeah,” he said, nodding.

  “Have you had dinner? I'm making something right now,” he said. 

  “I haven't,” Ryan said. “What're you making?”

  “Hamburger Helper. I'm not exactly the master chef, but I promise it's good.” After a beat he added “You aren't allergic to anything are you?”

  “Nope,” Ryan said.

  “Awesome! Oh, you can put your crap in my room. I'll show you,” he said, then motioned for Ryan to follow him. 

  Ray's room was the second door to the left. It was a small area, but all he really had was a bookshelf, bed, and desk with a desktop computer, monitor displaying the Fallout pause screen.

  “You can put it wherever,” he said. “My floor is a shelf.”

  Ryan set his bag beside his desk. “Nice room,” Ryan said. 

  “Thanks. The landlord is super picky about the paint and holes and shit in his walls so my room looks like a hospital room,” he said. “The place I'm moving to has no restrictions on posters and shit. I think being able to actually decorate is my favorite part about moving out.”

  Ryan smiled. “How long have you lived in this place?”

  “Since I was four. I feel bad for my mom. I was hellbent on drawing on the fucking walls. The landlord would have had a heart attack of he’d seen my artwork,” he said. “Oh shit, dinner.”

  Ray sped to the kitchen in time to stir the pasta. He added the seasoning packet, stirred it again, then put the lid on. 

  “Don’t worry, it's not burnt,” he said.

  “I trust your cheffing skills.”

  “Cheffing? You mean cooking?” Ray leaned on the counter beside where Ryan was standing. Ryan leaned closer to him. 

  “You know what I mean.” Ray snickered, then pulled Ryan in for a kiss. It was slow, relaxed. Ryan felt a knot in the pit of his stomach, felt it grow when Ray slid his hands inside his jacket to grip his his shirt and pull him closer. They pulled away only when they needed air, and Ryan still held Ray close.

  “That’ll never get old,” Ryan said, and Ray smiled lazily. 

  “Even when we’re 80?” Ray asked. 

  “You think we’ll be together that long?”

  Ray's cheeks tinted red, and Ryan grinned and pulled him in for another slow kiss. Ryan put his hands on Ray's waist, not venturing further.

  An alarm on Ray's phone went off and he pulled away. He looked flushed, but Ryan probably did too so he didn't mention it. 

  “The food,” he said. “You can set up a game if u want. There's more games in my room, and downloaded on my consoles.”

  There was a Wii U game pad on the couch. Ryan didn't care for Nintendo (well, that was an understatement), but it was the only console out. He pressed the home button and the remote screen lit up, showing Super Smash Brothers in the disk drive. He pressed it, and the TV screen lit up and played the intro song.

  Ray glanced around from where he was preparing the food. “Smash. Alright, but I should warn you, I'm pretty good.” Ryan, in his experience with Geoff, knew that when someone said they were pretty good at a game, they usually weren't. “Oh-kay,” Ryan said, giving Ray a look. Ray just smirked at him and shrugged. 

  “What do you want to drink. We have Coke, diet Coke, sprite, water, milk…?”

  “Diet Coke,” Ryan said. Once they were situated with dinner, Ray started the game. He connected his DS and handed it to Ryan. “It’s a bit easier to play with this.”

  Ryan quickly learned that Ray was not a liar, nor did he exaggerate. They were only a couple rounds in, Ray playing Luigi in the Waluigi colors and Ryan playing Pac-Man, before Ryan realized Ray was mostly toying with him. He’d let Ryan get a few hits in, gain confidence, then perform some complicated move that sent Ryan flying off the map. “I give!” Ryan said, setting the DS on the table. The screen displayed Luigi in purple and black while Pac-Man clapped, rather sarcastically, for him. “Nintendo is crap and you're cheating.”

  Ray grinned wolfishly. “Aww, you were so close, too,” he said. 

  “We both know I wasn't. Put on a movie or something,” he grumbled, throwing his hands up dramatically.

  “C’mon, Rye, nobody likes a sore loser,” he said, smirking. 

  “Yeah well nobody likes a sore winner either.”

  Ray grabbed the XBox remote off the table and switched over. He chose some horrible independent film that Ryan grew tired of after only ten minutes. 

  “This movie blows,” Ray said, leaning closer. Ryan grinned, seeing Ray’s ulterior motive.

  “You chose it,”he said, giving Ray a look.

  “That I did. Wanna do something else instead?”

  Ryan smirked. “Such as?”

Ray leaned over, kissed him, pulled him closer, closer, until Ray was straddling his waist, hands hiked up Ryan’s shirt. Ryan's hands went to Ray's hips, snaking behind to run over Ray's ass and up his shirt. Ray pressed closer, hips dragging across Ryan’s lap. Ryan let out a breath, fingers pressing further into Ray's skin. “Wanna go to my room?”

  Ryan opened his eyes and met Ray's. His pupils were blown, glasses askew in a way that made Ryan smile. “Please,” he said.

  Ray led him there by the hand, closed the door behind him and dragged him to the bed.

  
~~


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue

  1 year later.

 

  Ray woke up to a sunbeam directly on his face. He groaned and flopped over, trying to scoot out of the way of the light.

  “Stop,” Ryan complained. He slid his arm around Ray and pulled him close so he couldn't move. 

  “Go close the window,” he said into Ryan’s chest.

  He let out a noise that vaguely sounded like “no” and Ray groaned. 

  “Please,” he pleaded. 

  Ryan groaned, climbed out of the bed and closed the blinds. Ray opened his eyes just long enough to slide his arms around Ryan when he climbed back in bed. 

  “Mm, I love you,” he said.

  “I know,” Ryan said, pulling him closer.

  Ray relaxed into Ryan’s side, his gentle breaths lulling him back to sleep. He was suddenly jarred back into consciousness by the alarm on Ryan’s phone. He groaned, sliding his arms around the gent and keeping him from getting up. “I'm going to break your phone,” he said. 

  Ryan pulled himself out of Ray's hold to turn it off. “I know,” he said as he climbed out of bed. Ray flopped over and patted the nightstand until he found his glasses and phone. 

  He had a notification from his calendar,  _ Anniversary, 1 year <3 _ . “Hey, you know what day it is?” Ray asked, looking up at Ryan. He was in the middle of pulling a shirt on. He tugged it down and turned to look at Ray.

  “Sunday,” he said, self assuredly. He frowned when Ray stared blankly at him. “Wrong?”

  “November sixth,” Ray said.

  “Oh, shit. Our anniversary,” he said.

  “Yeah, asshole. I can't believe you didn't remember,”  Ray said.

  “Oh please you probably only remembered because you got a notification,” he said. 

  Ray grinned. “So, what are you getting me for our anniversary. Something pretty and expensive I hope,” he said, leaning back on their bed.

  “Want to keep up the tradition of going to the movies?”

  “Ugh I don't feel like socializing today. Let's just have a 24 hour sex marathon.”

  “I mean, that sounds fun in theory but I'm sure it wouldn't be that great. We don't have to invite anyone, it'll be just us.”

  “Alright, fine. I have a stream at three, though. I promised, so I can't miss that.”

  “Of course not. Come on, get ready.”

  Ray lingered, watching as Ryan turned back to the closet and finished dressing.

  “Ryan,” he said. 

  “Hm?” he replied, not turning around. 

  “When did you, you know, realize you liked me. I mean, I was kind of an awkward dumbass when we first met,” he said, shrugging even though Ryan couldn't see him.

  “That's why I liked you. It was endearing,” he said. “Why’d you like me?”

  Ray considered this. “You were hot, and you like video games.”

  Ryan turned to frown at him. “That's all it took?”

  Ray shrugged. “I'm easy to please.”

  “Do you still think I'm hot?”

  “Hell yeah, dude.” His eyes traveled down to Ryan’s ass, knowing the gent could see him in the mirror.

  “Even after living with me for a couple months. I read that attraction decreases after being intimately familiarized with your partner's day-to-day life. You realize how boring they really are.”

  “Nope,” he said. 

  “Shame, because I think you're extremely boring now,” Ryan said.

  “Please, I'm way more interesting now than when we met. I'm internet famous now, kinda, and I don't live with my mom,” he said. Moving to the corner of the bed so he could drag Ryan closer to him. 

  “I mean, one can argue that I'm internet famous too,” Ryan said. He let himself be pulled over, stopping when he was standing in front of where Ray was. “I mean, editing videos for internet famous people means something. I've got a few speaking roles too.”

  “Touche. When you get more internet famous than me I'll probably leave you, though,” Ray said, giving Ryan a threatening look. “I need to be the big man in this relationship.”

  “Do you then? Okay,” he said, nodding.

  “Are you busy today?”

  “Nope,” he said. 

  “Good, lay back down with me.”

  “I'm already dressed,” Ryan said, but he didn't stop Ray from pulling him down. 

  Ryan pulled Ray's back close to his chest and they laid in bed quietly, content to spoon in silence. Ray stared down at their hands, clasped together, focussing lazily on Ryan's thumb tracing up and down his absently.

  “Hypothetically,” Ryan said quietly, not breaking the atmosphere. “How would you react if I proposed right now?”

  Ray froze, like a deer in headlights. “I, well. That's a pretty loaded question,” he said.

  “Well, it's hypothetical,” Ryan said. His hand movement had stopped. 

  Ray felt his heart pound in his chest. “Of course. I mean, hypothetically, I'd say yes. I, uh, would want a long engagement though, at least a couple years. And I wouldn't want a huge flashy wedding, just a trip to the courthouse to sign papers.”

  “Hypothetically, would you compromise with a tiny ceremony for family's sake.”

  “Perhaps, if I had a pretty ring. To show off.”

  Ray heard rustling as Ryan reached in his pocket. His sight was momentarily obstructed by Ryan's arm as something was placed on the sheet on front of him.

  “You don't have to say yes right now, you can think about it if you want. And we can be engaged as long as you want.”

  Ray grabbed the box and opened it. The ring inside was a simple gold band. Ray had never been big on marriage. He wasn't religious, wasn't from a religious family, so he never saw the point. He’d have been content to just be with Ryan, no documents to muddy up the waters.

  But he'd known that Ryan wanted more. The gent was from a Christian household, the kind that went to church every Sunday and prayed over dinner, even if it was only on holidays. He was expected to marry, and he wanted to.

  But now? Now that it was actually happening, Ray felt happy. A million different scenarios were playing in his head of him and Ryan getting married, a small family affair, with mothers and grandparents. One of their family members or friends marrying them, and afterwards they take a day trip to their honeymoon destination. Afterwards they'd come back home and curl into each other. “Yeah,” Ray said, his hand tightening on Ryan’s.

  “Yeah?” Ryan sounded incredulous. 

  Ray twisted in his arms to kiss him, holding him close. “Yeah,” Ray breathed, resting his forehead against Ryan’s until the other cupped his jaw and brought him forward for another. He made a small, contented noise as he pulled away, unable to stop the grin from coming to his face. 

  “I love you,” Ryan said, quietly, tangling his hand in Ray’s hair.

  “I love you too,” Ray said, then pulled back. He grabbed the box from the bed and reopened it. 

 “Here,” Ryan said. Ray placed the box in his palm, and Ryan slid the ring on his finger. “Looks good. Does it fit well?”

  “Fits perfect,” Ray said. He looked up from the gold band and to see Ryan watching his face with curious eyes. “I should call my mom. She’s been asking when we're going to tie the knot since June.”

  “I should call my parents too. Want to go see a movie first? Have some us time?” he asked. 

  “Good idea. Once my mom hears she's going to talk for ages.”

  Ryan smiled. “C’mon, get ready then. “And happy anniversary.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus concludes my endeavor into non gta-verse! I hope everyone enjoyed it!  
> Please leave kudos and comments, and thank you to everyone who's left a lovely comment, I enjoyed reading them!  
> [Come talk to me on tumblr](http://desertsongs.co.vu/), or send me a prompt!  
> Thank you for reading!


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